武林怪杰厉樊山在海外得到一部武林秘桫苦练修罗阴煞功，惹来武林中人垂涎。毒龙尊者盗窃时，巧遇孟神通和妻子正为此书和厉樊山恶斗。樊山夫妇为孟所杀，而孟妻则死於樊山弟之手。一部奇书却由孟神通与樊山弟各得半部。毒龙尊者截斗神通，不敌，幸亏岷山派掌门吕四娘和天山派掌门唐晓澜赶来相救，神通乘机逃去。廿年後，奇书再现江湖，江湖上再牵起一片腥风血雨……

本片以江户时代末期的长屋贫民街为舞台，描写了两个年轻掏粪工与落魄武士家大小姐的爱情。黑白色调、学院画幅、章回体叙事，在这个喧嚣的时代，导演以激进的姿态回归古典，用他最擅长的喜剧形式写尽底层百姓人生，不断挖掘人性的光辉。曾获柏林国际电影节最佳女演员奖，并三度获得日本电影学院最佳女配角奖的黑木华，用无声的演技完美诠释失声后的女主角阿菊，又一次贡献出卓越表演。

演员过日子，举手投足就是一幕幕川剧，癫狂、苦涩、地道，烟火气刺鼻。百年的生活史，大大小小，就这样在舞台上下踉跄展开。

Miyako is a frustrated insurance saleswoman stuck in a major dry spell. She tries every trick in the book, including aggressive flirting, which gets her plenty of gropers but no buyers. One day while venturing down a narrow stairwell, she injures her ankle and happens upon Mitsuru who works for some mysterious foreign company. Decked out in high goth style -- complete with long inky black hair and mascaraed eyes -- Mitsuru cuts quite an odd figure, yet his seductive though menacing ways make him difficult for Miyako to resist. Escorting her to his office to treat her ankle, Miyako notices that his all-female staff seem more glassy-eyed and soul-deadened than the average office workers. In fact, they seem almost like zombies. Later, weird things start happening. Mitsuko finds vomit on her doorstep, she seems to be tailed by a shadowy woman in a red dress, and most strikingly, she finds herself utterly powerless against Mitsuru's advances. Soon she is offered a job at Mitsuru's office among the undead and the damned. Does Miyako's potential new place of employment at least offer stock options in exchange for her soul?